Clothes washer/extractors commonly are used in commercial and public establishments, such as coin-operated laundries, which have a compartmentalized dispenser into which detergents and chemical additives are added by a user prior to a wash cycle. Such dispensers typically comprise open top compartments, such as two compartments for filling with detergent to be used during pre-wash and wash cycles and two compartments for chemical additives, such as fabric softener and/or bleach, that the user wishes to add to the wash water during wash and/or rinse cycles.
For mixing water with the chemical additives, such as a fabric softener, prior to dispensing into the wash water, it is known for the chemical additive chamber to include a cup shaped siphoning device into which the liquid chemical additive is deposited. Water supplied to the chemical additive chamber during a wash cycle enters the bottom of the siphoning device, causing the fabric softener or bleach additive to mix and rise upwardly to the top of a siphoning tube. Once a sufficient liquid level is reached, water mixed with the chemical additive both over flows the siphon cup and also flows into and through the siphoning tube for direction into the wash tub of the washing machine. After the water supply to the chemical additive chamber is automatically turned off, siphoning of the liquid through the siphoning tube continues until the siphon cup is empty.
A problem with such siphon operated dispensers is that a residue of the chemical additive is left within the siphon cup. After a number of wash cycles, this can create a significant buildup which can impede proper operation of the dispenser and contaminate the chemical additive the next user may wish to use in a wash cycle. The residue buildup further creates an unclean and unsightly appearance, particularly undesirable in public establishments, that can accumulate mold over time.